What’s up everyone, thank you for coming in to read my first blog post. I have wanted to start creating some sort of MMA content for a decent amount of time now, so why not couple it with my gambling addiction.
Decided to kick everything off with the UFC Greenville card to get my feet under me before International Fight Week July 6th. We have a great event coming up with a lot of fresh talent and familiar faces, should make for an evening of guys who need to prove themselves to jump up in the rankings and get into some title pictures. So without further ado, here are my picks (using betting odds from Odds Shark):
Renato Moicano vs Chan Sung Jung Featherweight Bout
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT’S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT OF THE EVENEING. Sean Shelby is giving MMA fans a gift with this matchup of what should be a crazy battle from start to finish. Moicano has been making waves in this weight class in the last couple of years with big wins over Calvin Kattar, Cub Swanson, and Jeremy Stephens; he now looks to take down a legend in the sport in The Korean Zombie. Moicano is an excellent BJJ practitioner while also highly proficient in Muay Thai, he is dangerous anywhere in the octagon, and his only two losses are to two of the best in the division in Jose Aldo, and Brian Ortega.
Jung was an incredible talent several years ago stacking enough wins to earn a title fight against Aldo. Unfortunately, it did not go his way losing the bout by TKO. He then went back to Korea to serve in the military for three years before returning to the UFC. Jung came back in 2017 in a big way with a knockout win over Dennis Bermudez, a perfect return to the sport. Flash forward to the end of last year when he faced Yair Rodriguez (fill in for Frankie Edgar) where he put on a clinic and was well on his way to two straight victories since his comeback. Unfortunately for Jung, in the final seconds Rodriguez landed one of the most unreal over the back elbows ever seen in UFC history and knocked him clean out.
This fight has had me excited since it was announced, two guys who should be in the top 5 of this division going to war. That being said, I am taking the old legend TKZ in this one. Jung has found peace since his disappointing knockout and I believe he will look to prove to the world how great of a martial artist he is and put on a technical striking clinic over Moicano. Even if Moicano can bring it to the ground, I don’t see him being able to out grapple Jung who is a black belt in Judo and a brown belt in BJJ, along with belts in like 3 other martial arts. Fortunately for Moicano, he will be pocketing some extra cash as this fight will be the Fight of the Night winner (sorry Aguilar vs Ige, this is too electric)
Chan Sung Jung by 4th Round TKO +106 1 unit
Bryan Barberena vs Randy Brown Welterweight Bout
Somehow, this is the only welterweight bout on the whole entire card, and they couldn’t have picked a better one to display. Barberena is a goddamn animal. Dude has an incredible will in the octagon and an iron chin. The beating he withstood and delivered with Vincente Luque was must watch television and made me a life long fan. Most people just know him as the first to beat Super Sage derailing Dana’s wunderkind, others will know him as a gutsy brawler who wants to put on a show for the fans and get those bonuses in his pockets.
Randy Brown has had a shaky go of it in the UFC but is still young and looking to right the ship after a loss to Niko Price last year (first knockout in UFC history with hammerfists while on his back). Brown is very tall for a welterweight looks to use his length to set him apart from the competition coupled with his great boxing.
This is a great fight between two mid tier warriors who just want to exchange in the center of the octagon. I would love to pick Brown in this fight since he trains out of Queens, but I don’t think he has what it takes to put Barberena away. Barberena will bring it to him nonstop and with no remorse like a freaking terminator and I don’t see brown being able to weather the storm.
Bryan Barberena by 3rd Round Submission –205 2 units
Alessio Di Chirico vs Kevin Holland Middleweight Bout
The first fight of the main card promises two guys who want to keep this fight on their feet. Kevin Holland is a Kung Fu fighter, which is seldom seen in this sport, but exciting none the less. Coming off a tough fought split decision win in his last bout he looks to take out a seemingly underwhelming opponent in Chirico.
Chirico is an interesting guy; he hails from Rome but from early childhood till 2011 he was playing American Football. In 2011 he was convinced to begin training MMA and hasn’t looked back ever since. He won the IMMAF amateur LHW title and fought in smaller MMA promotions until joining the UFC. He now fights at middleweight and hopes to continue to improve his game against Holland.
This is a pretty even fight through and through, but I think I give it to Chirico. I don’t know if it’s because of the amount of respect I have for the guy because he played real football in Italy or if its because he hasn’t been doing this for that long and his still found success at the highest level, but his hand will be raised in the end.
Alessio Di Chirico by Decision +150 1 unit
Andrea Lee vs Montana De La Rosa Flyweight Bout
This is our final female bout of the evening and one that should be watched closely. As I mentioned earlier this is an extremely shallow weight class and it would only take a couple of fights to find yourself in the title picture. Most of the talent has trickled down from 135 or up from 115 but its still not completely filled in and top contenders must be found. Andrea Lee couldn’t be happier that the UFC created a flyweight division, having owned belts in various promotions previously. She is one of the more well rounded fighters on the roster being proficient in both Muay Thai and BJJ, her name is one being batted around as a future challenger for the title.
Lee is up against young up and comer Montana De La Rosa, a former three-time All-American wrestler, and current submission artist. At only 24 years old she has already racked up three UFC wins all by submission and looks to take down her toughest opponent that should vault her into top 5 of the class.
I have been very back and forth on this one because of De La Rosa’s wrestling acumen, but I think Lee will be able to hold her own in the grappling department and her standup is leaps and bounds better. Lee keeps it on the feet and takes this fight.
Andrea Lee by Decision –165 1 unit
Kevin Aguilar vs Dan Ige Featherweight Bout
What should make for an intense bout between a couple of contender series alums highlights the Prelims for this Greenville event. Aguilar in his third bout since joining the UFC has only one loss in his professional career and that was roughly five and a half years ago. Since that loss he held the LFA championship belt for seemingly as long as LFA existed. Aguilar comes up against a guy who also is not too familiar with losing, Ige, who only has one loss in the past three years. Ige is a black belt in BJJ and brown belt in Judo, coupled with a decent standup game, he makes for the toughest opponent that Aguilar has faced in his long career. All of that being said, I feel like Aguilar is very similar to Julio Arce in his approach and will suffocate Ige enough to neutralize his take down attempts and empty his gas tank, but don’t count this fight out of being a FOTN contender.
Kevin Aguilar by Decision –169 2 units
Syuri Kondo vs Ashley Yoder Strawweight Bout
This is one of the closer fights on the prelims between two fighters coming off a tough stretch. Yoder dropped three straight to some of the best fighters in the division before having a bounce back win late last year against Amanda Cooper. Kondo is coming off of two losses to against really tough competition and looks to bounce back against Yoder to get back to the win column she was in before entering the UFC.
I’m going to give Yoder the edge in this one, she battled hard in her last win and I don’t think if seen enough out of Kondo at this level to give her the nod.
Ashley Yoder by Decision +100 .5 unit
Luis Peña vs Matt Wiman Lightweight Bout
Now I had mentioned a couple of great lady fighters nicknames, but now lets get to one of the best nicknames in MMA history here with Luis “Violent Bob Ross” Peña. After suffering an injury after a promising splash in the TUF octagon and having to withdraw from the tournament he came back to lose a close decision to tournament winner, Mike Trizano, in his return. Deciding to move down a weight class he disappointed many by missing weight by 2.5 lbs, but won convincingly. He is now back at lightweight to fight Matt Wiman who has been in the UFC since 06. As a frame of reference, the main event was Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie. I believe that the UFC is trying to do a better job of cultivating their young talent, and Luis Peña will not disappoint. Luis Peña, my final answer.
Luis Pena by 2nd Round Submission –253 2 units
Allen Crowder vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik Heavyweight Bout
The only man to beat Greg Hardy in MMA comes back to the octagon after a gutsy performance of managing to goat Hardy into getting DQd. Crowder has not done all too much in the sport having losses to Justin Willis and Curtis Blaydes, the only names he’s faced outside of Hardy (who probably would’ve gotten the win had he not been so enticed to do something illegal). He comes in against Rozenstruik who is undefeated in MMA and is coming off a big second round finish over Junior Albini earlier this year. Rozenstruik has also finished all but one of his professional fights with 6 TKO/KOs to his name. I have to give the edge to Rozenstruik here having devastating hands and feet, I do not think that Crowder has what it takes to weather this storm.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik by 2nd Round TKO –169 1 unit
Ariane Lipski vs Molly McCann Flyweight Bout
Before I get into any analysis, this is one of the best nickname matchups I have seen in women’s MMA with the Violence Queen (Lipski) taking on Meatball (McCann). That being said, here we go. Lipski is coming off a tough loss to Joanne Calderwood who is one of the toughest women I have ever seen in this sport but before that was sporting a nine fight winning streak in various promotions. Meatball is coming off of a unanimous decision over Priscila Cachoeira and looks to keep her momentum going and make her name in this extremely shallow flyweight division. These fighters are very even, but McCann edges out Lipski on the feet and think that’s what will win her the fight in the end.
Molly “Meatball” McCann by Decision +111 1 unit
Eric Spicely vs Deron Winn Middleweight Bout
Now this right here is the fight I’m most excited for on the prelims. Deron Winn is a 5’7, AKA product, who essentially is what happens if you leave Daniel Cormier in the dryer too long. This is his UFC debut and his middleweight debut. That was not a typo, this 5’7 man was fighting at 205 lbs, respect is an understatement. As hard as the UFC tried, they could not find him a cupcake fight that could stay healthy for this event. Bring in Eric Spicely on 5 days notice, a former hopeful contender in the UFC who has a notable win over Thiago Santos, comes back to the promotion after being released last year. He never was able make the next step but looks to change that coming off of two wins and has the opportunity to stop a hopeful star right in his tracks. That being said, I’m still taking Winn, he has had a full camp, has been crushing people at 205 and is finally fighting at a somewhat truer weight class and trains at arguably the best gym in America (sorry Tiger Schulmanns, at least you get my money).
Deron Winn by 2nd round TKO –305 2 units
Andre Ewell vs Anderson Dos Santos Bantamweight Bout
Two fellas in their early 30s coming off losses in their previous fights looking to turn things around and climb the rankings. A loss in the early prelims could very well mean a UFC departure especially for fighters without too much history in the promotion. This is Dos Santos’ first fight in the bantamweight division and he’s looking to make a splash and prove he belongs under the biggest MMA banner in the world. As for Ewell this is his 3rd fight in the UFC and has not done much to impress as well. Both men have a strong grappling acumen and are fairly fresh having over six month layoffs each, but I think I give the edge to Ewell in this one. He has a longer reach and better striking in addition to him being used to this weight cut. Lock it in.
Andre Ewell by Decision –293 1 unit
Thank you all for being a part of my first blog of many. Hope I was able to give good insight and can win all of us some money on what should make for an action packed card. Feel free to leave any comments if you have any questions or think I am wildly wrong in my predictions.